SusieQQQ

Yes, i said a few years (marriage based n400 is 3 years as you are well aware), but it will be much faster than a sibling petition.

If he is a disabled adult unable to work, do you know what your state’s policies are regarding aid, and whether or not those apply to LPRs? Have you looked into what it will cost for health insurance for him as he will not be able to get employer insurance and is unlikely to be allowed to be a dependent on anyone else’s? You could probably expect (i assume you will be joint sponsor on the MIL’s petition for her son) to be asked to show more than the minimum poverty guideline in a case like this. you didn’t answer the age question, or whether there is someone to look after him while he awaits a visa. The mom can use a re-entry permit to return to be with him while he awaits a visa, but if he is over 21 she will max out on the time the re-entry permits allow (5 years total) before his visa will be issued.

Contact DHS to apply for redress. https://www.dhs.gov/dhs-trip

How old were the kids when he was still living with them? Maybe you can find other proof of the relationship that will be acceptable to the embassy.

Sometimes they find an issue in the final checks after the interview that they need to do further background on even if they said everything looked good in the interview. Not the first time it’s happened and won’t be the last. You’ll just have to wait unfortunately.

Your husband cannot file for a parent if he only has a green card, so only sister is actually able to file right now. But the sibling visa will take 15 years or more, so it makes more sense for your husband to file once he becomes a citizen in a few years. Now the bad news: there are no derivatives allowed on a parent visa if your husband files once he is a USC, so the son will not be able to immigrate with her. She (mother in law) can file for the son once she has her own green card. If he is under 21 that could take approx 2 years from date of filing, if over 21 more like 6-7 years. Depending how disabled he is and who else can care for him while she is away, these may not be workable options. DerivativeS are allowed on sibling visas but he would have to still be under 21 so that’s probably not going to work with a 15+ year wait unless he is now very very young.

“Uganda has a very high visa rejection rate compared to most other countries in the world. ”. “Most”? No, it doesn’t. That’s what the numbers say. The numbers for the US, not Canada, the numbers for the latest year, not a year like 2020 which was heavily affected by the pandemic. And yes i know the US published the numbers because I actually gave you the latest link of the one you posted above, but I get that it doesn’t tally nicely with the story you want to tell so you’re ignoring it. Oh well. Good luck anyway. Little point continuing this conversation, I guess if she gets refused you’ll just blame the “high refusal rate” 🤷‍♀️

Sorry you don’t like actual numbers. I have to point out though that the chart you show is for Canada, not the US, so not relevant at all. Anyway, as the official US link I gave you shows, 60% of Ugandan applicants got Bvisas last year., none of which changes the fact that your SIL needs to show her own ties to home regardless. fwiw I am from sub Saharan Africa originally and have had 4 B visa interviews of my own plus accompanied husband for his first one at one of those, plus got for my 2 kids. I kind of know the drill.

Um, that’s totally not an accurate statement. First, sub Saharan Africa is not homogeneous (some countries in it actually have refusal rates under 10%). Uganda’s is 39%, which is fairly high, but nowhere near as high as some other countries (outside sub Saharan Africa) with 65% and upwards refusal rates. The data are published, you can verify for yourself. https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Non-Immigrant-Statistics/RefusalRates/FY21.pdf That aside, if 39% are refused, well more than half get visas. It will totally depend on your SIL’s ties to home. Yes interviews are usually very brief, because usually they have what they need to know in the application form.

Check the US tourist visa pages for her country for specific instructions, as well as the general DS160 form (links below). If neither parent has a US visa she will be asked to go to an interview, the waiver would not apply. One of her parents can accompany her to the interview. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html https://www.usembassy.gov

Never seen a single case where citizenship has been revoked for this, can you provide a reference for the cases you refer to? The cases I’ve seen only involve factors where the actual immigrant would have been inadmissible in the first place - such as hiding criminal records, using a false name to hide a previous deportation/ban, etc.

Note that while a DNA test might be required for changing the BC, if USCIS or the consulate request a dna test, you’d need to do another one through their authorized labs, using the reference number they provide you in that request - you can’t pre-empt this part of it. Speaking from experience (mine and others), it’s highly likely to be requested as part of proving the relationship when the birth certificate used for filing the petition is issued more than a year after the birth.

Looks like your parents will have to go to their home country for an interview if you want them to get a visa any time soon hopefully won’t be any complications from having filed AOS as well… you’re supposed to do one or the other, not have both running concurrently

Works the other way too, there are things I can get over the counter here that I need a prescription for in my old home country. The price differences regardless prescription or not are ridiculous, so I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t bring necessary drugs in with them. The FDA link I posted upthread is very clear about how to do this without running into problems.

Just as an aside that was actually accurate, especially given that you clearly had a long term intention to relocate (that is, longer than the 5 years successive re entry permits would have allowed you to keep your green card while being absent). If you’d gotten citizenship then, it would have circumvented all this, but that’s water under the bridge. Intending to adjust when entering on VWP, regardless when you marry, is considered immigration fraud and you would be refused entry to the US - and lose your VWP privileges in the process - should CBP figure this out (as they in all likelihood would given the totality of circumstances you mention). Hopefully you can get it done faster than the normal process via DCF - good luck

Yes, same as you, with or after (just not before) your mom, and before visa expiry, whenever that ends up being for him.

Agree a lot can happen in the 14+ years wait for a sibling visa theres a very recent post by someone whose sibling decided at the end of the process that he didn’t want to continue as sponsor for the petition, possible that there’s a divorce, other petitioner or principal beneficiary can pass away, etc. I’d definitely have a backup petition if possible for OP’s question not sure about 1 as she is named but she is not the principal beneficiary (she could be cut out of that petition of divorce for example) for 2, i wouldn’t list parents as you’ve not filed yet and not filing same time

More surprised that your wife’s took so long than that the kids changed so fast. Everything we’ve submitted to uscis has changed to “actively reviewing “ right after receipt notice, a day or two after electronic filing. Still takes usual listed processing time. I don’t think you can in any way assume it’s linked to /accelerated because of your wife’s case.

A work trip is not residing somewhere.

As an aside, the FAQ about public charge for DV has changed a bit. It used to explicitly give examples including the i134, now it tells applicants to look at DoS guidance on public charge. I’m not sure whether this is intended to be more stringent or not, but it seems to me (from other forums) that reports of i134s being asked for are more prevalent than they were before. old 32. If I am successful in obtaining a visa through the DV program, will the U.S. government assist with my airfare to the United States, provide assistance to locate housing and employment, provide healthcare, or provide any subsidies until I am fully settled? No, applicants who obtain a DV visa are not provided any type of assistance such as airfare, housing assistance, or subsidies. If you are selected to apply for a DV visa, before you can be issued a visa, you will be required, before you are issued a visa, to provide evidence that you will not become a public charge in the United States. This evidence may be in the form of a combination of your personal assets, an Affidavit of Support (Form I-134) from a relative or friend residing in the United States, and/or an offer of employment from an employer in the United States. new 39. If I receive a visa through the DV program, will the U.S. government pay for my airfare to the United States, help me find housing and employment, and/or provide healthcare or any subsidies until I am fully settled? No. The U.S. government will not provide any of these services to you if you receive a visa through the DV program. If you are selected to apply for a DV, before being issued a visa you must demonstrate that you will not become a public charge in the United States. If you are selected and submit a diversity visa application, you should familiarize yourself with the Department of State’s public guidance on how the likelihood of becoming a public charge is assessed and what evidence can be provided to demonstrate that you are not likely to become a public charge.

Anecdotally there are a few countries where welcome letters are more often used/accepted (like Kenya) - I hadn’t realized Nepal was one of them. But the real thing with DV is a literal public charge interpretation. Obviously it’s easier to show you will be a public charge if you are an experienced, degreed professional in an area of demand, but they are more than happy to accept people who work minimum wage jobs as long as they’re comfortable they will actually work (for this past work experience is obviously looked at). There was someone on my local forum who got told to get an i134 a few years back (her brother was a US resident already). It was a very rare thing for our consulate to demand, at least at that stage, so they definitely look at individual factors. Fun fact though: a survey done some years back showed DV had a higher average education and higher average US job level than family based immigrants (not surprising when you think about it a bit I guess). Tbh I don’t really understand the Sri Lanka thing. Someone took Morocco to court or …somehow or other contested its prior demand that all DV applicants have I134s and successfully got them to drop it as a blanket requirement. I’m surprised the same hasn’t happened in SL. Not even sure why all the fuss given I134 isn’t legally enforceable anyway.

Just to clarify - it’s been said but maybe git a but muddled - CSPA means if you are a USC and you file for a child under 21, their (CSPA) age is frozen on the date the petition is properly filed. From uscis: If you are an immediate relative, a VAWA self-petitioning abused spouse or child of a U.S. citizen, or a derivative child of a VAWA self-petitioning abused spouse or child of a U.S. citizen, your age is frozen on the date the Form I-130 or Form I-360 is filed. If you were under the age of 21 at the time the petition was filed, you are eligible for CSPA and will not age out. However, you must remain unmarried in order to qualify. https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/child-status-protection-act-cspa

You can enter either with or after your mom as she is the principal applicant, but before your visa expires. Your dad’s visa will be issued when his processing is complete. If that takes longer than 6 months, he would be asked to do a new medical.

Spend some time on the real DV forum and you’ll see plenty. Because public charge is so individual circumstance based, mostly there are never any explicit instructions on what to bring on embassy webpages, but everyone is expected to show something that they overcome public charge. (Of course you know that because they don’t ask for a welcome letter either but you gave one anyway, right?.) The exception is Sri Lanka, where a i134 is mandatory for all DV applicants (even before the current economic turmoil.) see item B5 https://lk.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/149/DV-Check-list-for-web-page-1.pdf Turkey lists a number of things you can use to overcome public charge for Dv, including i134 https://tr.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/91/DV-Instructions-EN.pdf China mentions i34 for DV even though it only does a small amount each year https://www.ustraveldocs.com/cn/IV Instructions-English Aug 2021.pdf etc

I’m glad some of you have been able to move forward with your visas. Just an aside re the previous discussion about Riga, May issuance statistics show both that they are indeed giving a lot of priority to DV but also that their capacity is tiny and those looking for EB visas should probably go elsewhere - their total immigrant visa issuance in May was 23, made up of 16 DV, 4 F3 and 3 IR5.